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Articles for "Astronauten"

The MAFS team with the 70-year-old participant Ian Richards from Great Britain, a walker who took gold over three distances!

The study at the World Master Track & Field Championships in Málaga is now over and the crates with the instruments, devices, furniture and technical equipment have already been unpacked and stowed away at the Institute in Cologne. The time has now come to process and analyse the collected data, and the various groups of scientists are excited to find out the results of their work in the stadium over the last few weeks. But before detailed work on the data commences, we want to look back on the intense two weeks in Málaga and pass on a few impressions from the team. read more

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Ready for #asteroidlanding - MASCOT Control Center at the DLR site in Cologne

About 7 years ago, when the MASCOT lander took its 'first steps' in the form of a CAD drawing was – at least for some of us – an unimaginable moment. Today, we are in the control room, following the slow descent of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft carrying our small landing package through the returned housekeeping data. We are ready to go. read more

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The MASCOT camera MASCAM is positioned directly in front of MASCOT's 'feet'

Hayabusa2 and MASCOT will make a first-class team when they start investigating Ryugu. While Hayabusa2 will observe the asteroid's surface from the home position and take soil samples, MASCOT will examine the asteroid surface directly on site. Our MASCOT camera, called MASCAM, plays an important role here, as it will take high-resolution images of the surface, while Hayabusa2 will later obtain soil samples that will be brought back to Earth. This is important in ensuring that the samples are later interpreted in the correct context in the laboratory on Earth. The pictures that the camera acquires of the surface thus serve as the bridge between the lower-resolution images provided by the Hayabusa2 probe, at a distance from the asteroid, and the laboratory images of the samples brought back to Earth. read more

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Temperature measurement with the MASCOT radiometer MARA. The highlighted area on the surface is also observed by the MASCOT camera.

A radiometer is a device for determining the radiation emitted by a surface. Its objective is to measure the temperature of the surface without touching it. When MASCOT separates from the Hayabusa2 probe on 3 October 2018, the MASCOT radiometer MARA will already be switched on, and will measure the surface temperature of the asteroid Ryugu during the descent, landing and rest periods. At first glance, measuring surface temperature sounds rather mundane and not particularly exciting. But what can the temperature tell us about the asteroid? In order to gain a better understanding, we have to consider the factors that determine the surface temperature on a body that lacks an atmosphere. Naturally, sunlight is an important factor – as are the properties of the surface material, known as the regolith. The key factor here is the speed at which the heat dissipates into the ground, a property known as thermal inertia. read more

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Moving around on small bodies is difficult, because the gravitational pull and thus the friction between a lander and the ground is very small. Conventional means of transport, such as wheels or chains, are based on traction and are thus unsuitable for use on asteroids. Therefore, a mobility mechanism was developed for MASCOT in order to enable movement in such an environment: the lander is equipped with a swing arm that accelerates and decelerates an eccentrically mounted mass. The resulting reaction forces, in turn, allow the lander to push itself away from the ground. As the gravitational pull is very low, even small push-off forces can result in big jumps: a distance of 17 metres can be achieved with an initial speed of only five centimetres per second. The gravitational acceleration on the surface of Ryugu is only 0.00015 metres per second squared and is thus 60.000 times lower than on Earth (9.81 m/s2). read more

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Lots of data: The MASCOT teams receive the lander's data via the Japanese Hayabusa2 space probe

MASCOT will begin its main and also final mission phase on 3 October 2018. Early in the morning, at 03:58:15 local time, MASCOT will separate from Hayabusa2 and land on the surface of Ryugu a few minutes later. It will already begin to conduct scientific measurements before starting its descent, and will continue doing so after landing, right up until its battery runs out. Standing on the surface, MASCOT will observe its surroundings and carry out various measuring sequences, depending on whether it is night or day at the landing site at the time. A day on Ryugu is only 7:38 hours, meaning that MASCOT will land in the early afternoon, local asteroid time. read more

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The date has been set! On 3 October 2018, after almost four years in space, the Franco-German MASCOT asteroid lander will separate from its Japanese mother craft Hayabusa2 and free-fall onto the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. The separation, driven by a small mechanism, will be a pivotal moment on which much depends. Once triggered, it will create a mechanically coupled chain reaction that will irrevocably initiate the mission. This is the point of no return. The way in which the mechanism functions and the possible risks of separation are briefly outlined here. read more

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Buoyant mood during the calf ultrasound: a participant from the United States takes part in the MAFS study

The first week of the World Master Track & Field Championships in Málaga has come to an end and a few gold, silver and bronze medals have been awarded. Some of the athletes proudly bring their medals to the examinations and, despite the intense heat in the south of Spain, show the same level of focus and commitment in the MAFS18 study. All of them are determined to score top results in the examination of how regular exercise affects health. read more

The first few days of the MAFS study of ageing athletes at the World Championships in Málaga are over, and the team remains amazed by the overwhelming response. Some subjects have already scheduled tests for the second week, as the examination appointments at the stadium are almost completely booked for the first six days of the world championships and the athletes need to compete in their events as well. In the early hours the team is already assembled at the venue to set up the measurement stations, start up the equipment and drink a welcome cup of coffee before the first highly motivated and extremely athletic subjects start knocking on the door to complete the tests. Breakfast is also prepared for athletes who are scheduled for the resting metabolism test, which requires them to arrive with an empty stomach. read more

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All the boxes are unpacked, the measurement stations have been set up, the first test subjects recruited and the study team is looking forward to their work – they are all set to go. The first measurements in the MAFS study (Masters Athletics Field Study 2018) started at 08:00 today, at the Senior World Masters Track and Field Athletics Championships in Málaga. The MAFS study examines how sport at an advanced age affects health, specifically the heart, circulatory system and metabolism. The competition is scheduled to run until 16 September – and the DLR team is on site to take a close look at the athletes' muscles, hearts and attitudes to life. read more